Tuesday, August 08, 2017

So hi, I guess?

So it's been a long while since I blogged anything, I do admit I've missed it and I do really want to get back into it to keep running record of all my sewing and craft projects if nothing else.

The first eight months of this year have kind of gone in a BLUR to be honest and I hope to be able to take some time to post about some of the projects I've made (both garments and other things) as well as go back to blogging more regularly - who know if it will happen but I will try.

As for what I've been getting up to since I last blogged in MAY (YIKES) here's a really brief snapshot.

I've spent a lot of time hanging out with this ridiculous chubby cat - do you think she's high on catnip in this picture? She's not, she's just REALLY loving the heater in this cold winter weather.
I've been reading a lot and Ria introduced me to the world of True Crime podcasts so now I'm obsessed with serial killers (not weird at all) - this is my recent haul from a recent book fair.
I had a midwinter Christmas celebration for my birthday and it was a fun time as I hardly took any photos (that's a sign of a good party right?).
Rich took me to the Wellington Chocolate Factory for a factory tour as a birthday surprise, it was really interesting to learn how they make chocolate from bean to bar and it was also incredible how different the chocolate tastes depending on where the beans were sourced.
We went to a Regency Ball that Ria organised, I made my dress and altered some op shop finds for Rich's costume (it was a lot easier to pull together a men's regency costume that I thought!).
Ria and I also went to Armageddon in Princess themed outfits, mine is made from vintage Snow White Fabric and Ria's is Belle inspired.
I have been continuing with craft projects and craft swaps, like this wee fox in a tea cup cross stitch.

So that's a REALLY brief update of what I've been doing - hopefully I will be spending more time blogging about stuff I'm making and doing. In the meantime, how have you guys been? 

Friday, May 05, 2017

Fundraiser Tea Ceremony

A few weeks ago I read about a fundraiser at the innermost gardens, the fundraiser was to repair a castle damaged by earthquakes in Japan. 
The fundraiser included a traditional tea ceremony and lots of Japanese goodies so I had to come along and Ria was happy to come along with me!
When we first arrived a tea ceremony was already underway, so decided to check out the stalls which we selling a lot of cute treats.
Sorry the picture is slightly blurry! I thought these rice balls were so cute, once you bought one you could draw a face on the glad wrap that they were wrapped in with a felt tip pen.
Ria bought one of these bears and drew a face on him, I looked up this character and he's call "Kumamon" and is "Japan's most popular bear".
There was a bit of a wait before we could join the next tea ceremony, but it was ok to wait as there was cute stuff to look at including these cute cranes.
As part of the ceremony we got to have the most delicious matcha ever and these crunchy sweet biscuit things (no idea what they really are!).
The team ceremony itself was pretty amazing to watch, there was so much ritual involved. I just wish I knew more about what each movement and action actually meant.

Before leaving we decided to explore the innermost gardens where the event was held which is a community garden, it's a little over grown, but that's part of it's charm.
Before we left we asked a couple of the ladies if they would mind having a photo with us in their beautiful kimono.
It turned out all the people in traditional Japanese clothing were just as excited as we were about photos, so for the second photo a bunch more people joined in!
I just thought I'd finish up this post with a Selfie, because that's who I am! Ria made her adorable dress and mine is from Lindy Bop. I'm also wearing a bunny because this was the weekend before Easter!

I hope you have a lovely weekend, I think its going to be a chilly one here in Wellington x

Monday, April 24, 2017

Being a tourist in your own city

If you've been reading this blog for a while you probably know that I love traveling, but I also try and treat as many of my weekends as possible as if I was a tourist in Wellington  (even thought I've lived here for over ten years).

You know what's more fun than pretending to be a tourist in your own town? Have friends visit from overseas and acting like a tour guide, it helps you see the place you live in a whole new light.
A few weeks ago my long time friend Vany (AKA Craft Ninja) and her husband Thorsten came to visit New Zealand and stayed in Wellington for four days and I took some time of work to show them around.

One of the first places on their list to visit was Zealandia, which is a wildlife reserve in Karori, I haven't visited here for years! In fact I've only been here once since we returned from living in Asia.
Zealandia is home to a huge number of native birds (and one of the reasons we have so many native birds in Wellington city) and we got to see quite a few up close. We arrived at Kaka feeding time and it was awesome to see so many of them up close.
We also got to see the Takahe up close, which was awesome as they are pretty rare and I'd only even seen them in photos. I know I will never be a wildlife photographer, but trust me, it was awesome to see these guys in real life.
I really want to make more effort to go out to Zealandia now I've gone back, it's such a great place to visit for the views along as well as all the creatures you can see.
Another place Vany and Thorsten wanted to visit that I hadn't been to for years was the Weta Cave in Miramar. I'm sure that even if you've never heard of Weta, you have watched movies they have made like Lord of the Rings and Avatar and about a million other movies, including Ghost in the Shell.

We did a tour of Weta workshops which was awesome and a lot more hands on than I expected, we got to hold chain mail and one of the "guns" from District 9 and all kinds of things - unfortunately photo's weren't allowed due to copyright issues, so I can't share any with you all.

But photo's were allowed in the Weta Cave, which is largely a store, but it did include a mini museum.

There were also a few creatures  hanging around the Weta Cave that were familiar to most people...like this guy.
My favourite thing about the Weta Cave was the giant trolls/orcs that are outside of the building - these things are huge!

We also got to go to Cuba Dupa (the Cuba Street Carnival) together, Rich and I  go to this each year, but it's always more fun to go with friends!









 I also took the opportunity to introduce Vany to a bunch of my favorite crafty people!
This is just a small snippet of what we got up too during Vany and Thorsten's visit - who whats to visit next?

Monday, April 17, 2017

Made by Me - Simple Stripe Top

Hello its me, I've been making stuff and doing stuff and not blogging about any of it so forgive me - I have a big backlog of stuff to blog about, but for today let me show you a really simple top I made to wear with a skirt that had become a wardrobe orphan.
It's also kind of crumpled in this photo from me wearing it all day - oh well, no smoke and mirrors on this blog.
I made the top from knit fabric that I bought on a recent road trip to Levana in Levin, the pattern I used is the Colette Laurel, however I was incredibly lazy and the top I've made isn't really what I wanted because:

1) I've lost about five kilos, but I didn't bother to remeasure myseld
2) I wanted something closer fitting and this pattern is for wovens, so I should have remeasured myself and then gone down a size or two for negative ease

So this top is ok, but not my favourite and it works until I get something else to work with this skirt (I do have some orange sparkly vintage stuff that would probably look great as a pussy bow blouse, so perhaps that's what the next top will be) and once I'm over wearing it with this skirt I will be able to wear it as a gym t shirt.
Also someone tried to steal the show, as per usual, my favourite cat model Mia.
Also I wore my oldest hot chocolate shoes (they are now looking a little sad, but I still love them).
Hopefully I can update you all with some more posts soon - I  have had quite a few busy weekend lately. I hope you all has a really great Easter and enjoyed lots of tasty treats!

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Recent Craft Swaps

So this year, I've been doing a few craft swaps I thought I'd share what I've made and received so I have a record I've what I've made and received.

Valentine's Swap

The first swap I did was a valentine's swap, it was a pretty simple swap where you had to make a small item - I choose a couple of pouches that I made from some scraps I had in my scrap bin that fitted into the whole valentines theme.  I also sent some chocolates and a card, as that was part of the swap, but I didn't take any photos of those.



 I received a tote bag as part of the swap, which has become a pretty great lunch bag.


I also got some popping candy, the packaging was super cute! I also received a sweet card and some lip gloss.



Box of Sunshine Swap

The basic premise of this swap is to fill a box of stuff to bring some sunshine into your swap partners life.

I didn't really take a lot of photo's of what I made, so I took these photos from the link on Craftster where my partner shared what I sent.

I made a tote bag, a drawstring pouch, a patchwork scarf and bow, and I sent a bunch of extras.



 I received a lovely package of sunshine from Japan, including this Studio Ghibli inspired hoop, some trims, Guedetama glasses cleaner and seal-able bags, phone charms and some lollies.






I'm currently finishing up a Galentines, Easter Basket and Woodland Swap - so a lot of crafting to do in the next few weeks!